This Could Have Been
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1328: When Sophie comes to pick her mother up from the workshop, Rachel tells her about what she's done, or tried to do, for Chloe. - Red series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 63rd cycle. Now cycle 64!_

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**"This Could Have Been"  
(Older) Rachel, Sophie (OC), (Chloe (OC))  
Red series  
_(no listing yet; sequel to Making It Along)_  
**

Rachel had watched Chloe head out with a few of the others after the workshop, and she'd been glad. She should be able to make friends here, beyond her and Sophie. Also it gave her a chance to check in on their special guest upstairs.

Sophie wanted to surprise her mother that day and take her out to lunch, as a sort of 'congratulations on a first day of workshop' thing. She made her way to the studio, only her mother wasn't in her office, or in the classroom. She was about to call her when she heard a sound from upstairs and looked up. She could vaguely make out her mother's shape up in the gallery, it was almost impossible to see up there, but she was telling her to come up. When she arrived there, she found her mother looked conflicted.

"Hey, how did it go? You look like you're questioning your entire life right now which, I gotta say, is kind of bad timing."

"I did something bad," Rachel told her, and Sophie's eyes widened with curiosity.

"What's his name?" she teased.

"Peter Stenger," Rachel sat down.

"Pet… Woah, hey, hold on, you did 'something bad' with Chloe's dad?" Sophie sputtered, and Rachel's head shot back up.

"What? No, what are you… Sophie, would you just…" Rachel matched her daughter's tone in shock.

"I think you need to start this over," Sophie suggested.

"I think I do," Rachel agreed, indicating the seat next to her. Sophie came and sat with her mother, who was looking down into the empty classroom. "I found Peter, I talked to him, told him about the workshop, and Chloe…"

"Okay?" Sophie followed.

"He came here today," Rachel revealed, and her daughter gasped. "I told him he could stay up here, watch Chloe without her knowing he was here just yet, only when I came up here after we were done, he was gone."

"Oh…" Sophie let out a breath. 'Poor Chloe,' it said. "She doesn't know about any of this, does she?"

"Of course not. I didn't want to get her hopes up, in case I couldn't find him, or he wouldn't see her. Now I'm thinking that was the right move," she gestured around the empty gallery.

"Maybe… he just needs time. It was probably overwhelming to see her there, with how long it's been. I know if it was me, coming to see a kid I walked away from all those years ago, I'd be scared of what they said when they saw me."

"For your sake and mine, let's hope it never comes to that for you," Rachel sighed, taking her daughter's hand. There was a brief moment of silence, before Sophie got up, pulling her mother on to her feet as well.

"Come on, I'm taking you to lunch."

"Taking pity on me?" Rachel asked, as Sophie held to her arm.

"Who's going to take care of you if I don't?" she smiled to her mother.

"Right, I'll take that," she gave her a look.

"So are you going to tell Chloe about what happened today, or are we keeping this on the quiet side?" Sophie mimed a zip to her lips.

"For now I think it might be best if we kept this to ourselves. Whatever made Peter leave without saying a word, he might need a couple of days to figure things out and then he'll make contact again."

"How long are we supposed to wait? He hasn't tried to call her in over a decade."

"Let's give it a week maybe?" Rachel suggested.

"Right, we can do that," Sophie agreed. They came out of the studio just as Rachel spotted her trying to stifle a laugh.

"What is it?" Sophie shook her head, not wanting to say. "You know I hate it when you do that. It makes me anxious and then I want to know…"

"Yeah, you used to tickle me and then…" Sophie chuckled, then seeing her mother's hand, ready to dive in, "Don't!" she recoiled, notoriously ticklish for as long as she could remember.

"Speak, you," Rachel demanded.

"I was just thinking about what it would be like if you and Chloe's dad really did do 'something bad.'"

"Sophie…"

"It'd be like some movie of the week, you know? You, with no husband, unknowingly taking in the daughter of an old friend. The two of you reunite, one thing leads to another and…" she gestured, and Rachel pulled her arm back down.

"I can't very well hold theatrics against you, but don't go getting ideas in your head, Sophie Eleanor Perry. Nothing happened, and nothing will." She hadn't expected to sound so abrupt, and by the look of surprise on her face, neither had Sophie.

"Right, got it. I'm sorry," she turned back ahead, and Rachel sighed.

"How are thing with you and Julian?" she asked, hoping to get the conversation back on a more positive tone. At the sound of the boy's name, Sophie's whole posture would change, which made Rachel smirk. It had been that way once, with her and her husband.

"Good, they're… they're good. He's heading down to Oklahoma to see his family in a couple of weeks. He asked if I'd go with him, so I could meet them." Rachel smiled, seeing how her daughter almost blushed.

"Are you going to go?"

"I don't know, what if it's too soon?" Sophie asked, nervous.

"He doesn't seem to think it is."

"What do you think?"

"It's not up to me to decide," Rachel shook her head.

"What if I say no and he takes it the wrong way?"

"If he can't understand that, then I wouldn't waste my time. Do you want to meet them?"

"Sure I do," Sophie replied without thought.

"Well, then, go for it."

"Should I invite him to dinner at the house? To meet you? Officially, I mean…"

"As your boyfriend?" Rachel teased, just to see if her daughter's cheeks could get any redder. Sophie had always been prone to pull focus, but there were still times where she turned into her father, so very shy.

"Right, that."

"I think it's about time I made _him_ coffee for once."

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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